A peace that does not close the paper trenches

This Friday, newspapers are celebrating the end—or at least the pause—of the conflict between Israel and Palestine that has raged for the past two years. A glance at the international newsstand reveals a curious Spanish trend that I haven't seen in Europe or America: most newspapers featured two photographs on their front pages showing the joy that unites ordinary people on both sides of the war. It was a curious symmetry that risked conveying equidistance between Hamas's intolerable attack and Netanyahu's response that multiplies the death toll of that initial massacre by more than 50, if we count civilians. The issue of the unequal weight of the dead in journalism is always painful to bring up. But at least no newspaper featured only the photo of the jewel in Tel Aviv, as the British newspaper did. The Times.

However, the balance in Spain was only graphic, as there were substantial differences in the editorials. Those on the right focused their sights on Hamas, demanding its disappearance, in texts that oozed a disturbing subtext: the Gazans have gotten what they deserve, which, at best, very minimal, is an oversimplification. On the other side, The Country He recalled that "two million people will continue to be gripped by destruction, hunger, and the lack of the most basic services such as electricity, water, and medicine." Everyone expresses their own urgent needs. And, in any case, it's becoming clear that the underlying issue is far from being resolved. It isn't resolved either on the ground, or in international institutions—will Netanyahu ever be tried?—or in press reports. If there was no agreement when it was said that a genocide was being perpetrated, no political solution will generate even the slightest consensus on this polarized issue.